Reading Harry Potter and The Chamber of Secrets
by Stroke of Coffee
Summary: The next book in what has been done many times this is no different then the others. Sorry about this amazing summary because people need to stop dissing their summaries Spread the Word
1. The Worst Birthday

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything from the wonderful Harry Potter world.**

**A/N: Finally finished the first book onto another one. Oh and HAPPY CANADA DAY!**

The Worst Birthday

"Is everybody finished?" asked Mrs. Weasley.

After finishing the first book they had decided to wait before continuing onto the next one. Everyone ate then went to bed. The next day everyone slowly awoke and ate the delicious meal Mrs. Weasley had provided them with.

"It's called **Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets**," Hermione said looking at the book.

Ginny stiffened at the mention of her first year. The rest of the Weasley family cringed thinking of what had happened to Ginny.

"**The Worst Birthday**," Mrs. Weasley read as everyone sat down.

"Looks like this book won't start nicely," Hermione sighed.

**Not for the first time, an argument had broken out over breakfast at number four, Privet Drive. Mr. Vernon Dursley had been woken in the early hours of the morning by a loud, hooting noise from his nephew Harry's room.**

"Go Hedwig!" cheered Tonks.

"**Third time this week!" he roared across the table. "If you can't control that owl, it'll have to go!"**

**Harry tried, yet again, to explain.**

"**She's bored," he said. "She's used to flying around outside. If I could just let her out at night -"**

"Poor girl," Hermione frowned, "she needs to go out."

"**Do I look stupid?" snarled Uncle Vernon, a bit of fried egg dangling from his bushy moustache.**

Harry nodded, "Actually you do."

**"I know what'll happen if that owl's let out."**

Hermione raised her eyebrow, "What exactly is that?"

**He exchanged dark looks with his wife, Petunia.**

**Harry tried to argue back but his words were drowned by a long, loud belch from the Dursleys' son, Dudley.**

Fleur made a face, "Disgusting."****

"I want more bacon."

"There's more in the frying pan, sweetums," said Aunt Petunia, turning misty eyes on her massive son. "We must build you up while we've got the chance… I don't like the sound of that school food…"

"That's just ridiculous," Mrs. Weasley said shaking her head in disgust.

"How big do they want that boy to get?" Tonks questioned.

**"Nonsense, Petunia, I never went hungry when I was at Smeltings," said Uncle Vernon heartily. "Dudley gets enough, don't you, son?"**

**Dudley, who was so large his bottom drooped over either side of the kitchen chair, grinned and turned to Harry.**

"**Pass the frying pan."**

"**You've forgotten the magic word," said Harry irritably.**

Hermione grimaced, "I'm guessing they won't like that."

**The effect of this simple sentence on the rest of the family was incredible: Dudley gasped and fell off his chair with a crash that shook the whole kitchen; Mrs. Dursley gave a small scream and clapped her hands to her mouth; Mr. Dursley jumped to his feet, veins throbbing in his temples.**

"Well that's a bit dramatic," Mrs. Weasely said frowning.

"**I meant 'please'!" said Harry quickly. "I didn't mean —"**

"**WHAT HAVE I TOLD YOU," thundered his uncle, spraying spit over the table, "ABOUT SAYING THE 'M' WORD IN OUR HOUSE?"**

"He wasn't even using it like that," Ron said rolling his eyes.

"**But I —"**

**"HOW DARE YOU THREATEN DUDLEY!" roared Uncle Vernon, pounding the table with his fist.**

"Threaten him?" Hermione said her eyebrow raised, "Look at the way he treats Harry."

"**I just —"**

"**I WARNED YOU! I WILL NOT TOLERATE MENTION OF YOUR ABNORMALITY UNDER THIS ROOF!"**

**Harry stared from his purple-faced uncle to his pale aunt, who was trying to heave Dudley to his feet.**

"**All right," said Harry, "all right…"**

**Uncle Vernon sat back down, breathing like a winded rhinoceros and watching Harry closely out of the corners of his small, sharp eyes.**

**Ever since Harry had come home for the summer holidays, Uncle Vernon had been treating him like a bomb that might go off at any moment, because Harry Potter wasn't a normal boy. As a matter of fact, he was as not normal as it is possible to be.**

"That's for sure," said Ron.

**Harry Potter was a wizard**

"Well not for that reason," George said.

—**a wizard fresh from his first year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. And if the Dursleys were unhappy to have him back for the holidays, it was nothing to how Harry felt.**

**He missed Hogwarts so much it was like having a constant stomachache. He missed the castle, with its secret passageways and ghosts, his classes (though perhaps not Snape, the Potions master),**

"I doubt anybody would," Fred said.

**the mail arriving by owl, eating banquets in the Great Hall, sleeping in his four-poster bed in the tower dormitory, visiting the gamekeeper, Hagrid, in his cabin next to the Forbidden Forest in the grounds, and, especially, Quidditch, the most popular sport in the wizarding world (six tall goal posts, four flying balls, and fourteen players on broomsticks).**

Hermione looked at Harry, "What about us?"

"You were what I missed the most," Harry said.

**All Harry's spellbooks, his wand, robes, cauldron, and top-of-the-line Nimbus Two Thousand broomstick had been locked in a cupboard under the stairs by Uncle Vernon the instant Harry had come home. What did the Dursleys care if Harry lost his place on the House Quidditch team because he hadn't practiced all summer?**

"I doubt that would happen you're the best seeker we've ever had," George said.

"Plus it's not like you're just going to forget how to fly over the summer," Fred added.

**What was it to the Dursleys if Harry went back to school without any of his homework done? The Dursleys were what wizards called Muggles (not a drop of magical blood in their veins), and as far as they were concerned, having a wizard in the family was a matter of deepest shame. Uncle Vernon had even padlocked Harry's owl, Hedwig, inside her cage, to stop her from carrying messages to anyone in the wizarding world.**

"We already know this," Ron said irritably.

**Harry looked nothing like the rest of the family.**

"Thank Merlin for that," Hermione said.

**Uncle Vernon was large and neckless, with an enormous black moustache; Aunt Petunia was horse-faced and bony; Dudley was blond, pink, and porky. Harry, on the other hand, was small and skinny, with brilliant green eyes and jet-black hair that was always untidy. He wore round glasses, and on his forehead was a thin, lightning-shaped scar.**

**It was this scar that made Harry so particularly unusual, even for a wizard. This scar was the only hint of Harry's very mysterious past, of the reason he had been left on the Dursleys' doorstep eleven years before.**

**At the age of one year old,**

"Do we really have to read this all again?" Tonks sighed.

**Harry had somehow survived a curse from the greatest Dark sorcerer of all time,**

Mrs. Weasley paused at the next word.

"You know Who," Mrs. Weasley read choosing not to say what the book had put.

Harry sighed, "Voldemort," ignore the flinches people gave he continued, "You need to get over saying his name it's just a name."

**whose name most witches and wizards still feared to speak. Harry's parents had died in Voldemort's attack, but Harry had escaped with his lightning scar, and somehow — nobody understood why —Voldemort's powers had been destroyed the instant he had failed to kill Harry. So Harry had been brought up by his dead mother's sister and her husband. He had spent ten years with the Dursleys, never understanding why he kept making odd things happen without meaning to, believing the Dursleys' story that he had got his scar in the car crash that had killed his parents.**

Remus shook his head, how dare they lie to him about that.

**And then, exactly a year ago, Hogwarts had written to Harry, and the whole story had come out. Harry had taken up his place at wizard school, where he and his scar were famous… but now the school year was over, and he was back with the Dursleys for the summer, back to being treated like a dog that had rolled in something smelly.**

**The Dursleys hadn't even remembered that today happened to be Harry's twelfth birthday.**

Ron looked at Harry, he couldn't imagine if everyone forgot it was is birthday.

**Of course, his hopes hadn't been high; they'd never given him a real present, let alone a cake — but to ignore it completely…**

"That's just cruel," Ginny said frowning.

**At that moment, Uncle Vernon cleared his throat importantly and said, "Now, as we all know, today is a very important day."**

"Maybe they didn't remember," Mrs. Weasley said doubtful.

"I have a feeling they didn't," Hermione said sighing.

**Harry looked up, hardly daring to believe it.**

"**This could well be the day I make the biggest deal of my career," said Uncle Vernon.**

Hermione shook her head, of course.

**Harry went back to his toast. Of course, he thought bitterly, Uncle Vernon was talking about the stupid dinner party. He'd been talking of nothing else for two weeks. Some rich builder and his wife were coming to dinner and Uncle Vernon was hoping to get a huge order from him (Uncle Vernon's company made drills).**

"**I think we should run through the schedule one more time," said Uncle Vernon. "We should all be in position at eight o'clock. Petunia, you will be —?"**

"**In the lounge," said Aunt Petunia promptly, "waiting to welcome them graciously to our home."**

"**Good, good. And Dudley?"**

"**I'll be waiting to open the door." Dudley put on a foul, simpering smile. "May I take your coats, Mr. and Mrs. Mason?"**

"**They'll love him!" cried Aunt Petunia rapturously.**

"That's likely, "Harry rolled his eyes.

"**Excellent, Dudley," said Uncle Vernon. Then he rounded on Harry. "And you?"**

"**I'll be in my bedroom, making no noise and pretending I'm not there," said Harry tonelessly.**

"And on your birthday," Tonks frowned.

"**Exactly," said Uncle Vernon nastily. "I will lead them into the lounge, introduce you, Petunia, and pour them drinks. At eight-fifteen —"**

"**I'll announce dinner," said Aunt Petunia.**

"**And, Dudley, you'll say —"**

"**May I take you through to the dining room, Mrs. Mason?" said Dudley, offering his fat arm to an invisible woman.**

"**My perfect little gentleman!" sniffed Aunt Petunia.**

Harry rolled his eyes, as if.

"**And you?" said Uncle Vernon viciously to Harry.**

"**I'll be in my room, making no noise and pretending I'm not there," said Harry dully.**

"Git," Ginny muttered.

"**Precisely. Now, we should aim to get in a few good compliments at dinner. Petunia, any ideas?"**

"**Vernon tells me you're a wonderful golfer, Mr. Mason… Do tell me where you bought your dress, Mrs. Mason…"**

"**Perfect… Dudley?"**

"**How about —'We had to write an essay about our hero at school, Mr. Mason, and I wrote about you.'"**

Everyone burst out laughing, "He really is thick," Bill said.

**This was too much for both Aunt Petunia and Harry. Aunt Petunia burst into tears and hugged her son, while Harry ducked under the table so they wouldn't see him laughing.**

"**And you, boy?"**

**Harry fought to keep his face straight as he emerged.**

"That must have been hard," George said.

"**I'll be in my room, making no noise and pretending I'm not there," he said.**

"**Too right, you will." said Uncle Vernon forcefully. "The Masons don't know anything about you and it's going to stay that way.**

**When dinner's over, you take Mrs. Mason back to the lounge for coffee, Petunia, and I'll bring the subject around to drills. With any luck, I'll have the deal signed and sealed before the news at ten. Be shopping for a vacation home in Majorca this time tomorrow."**

**Harry couldn't feel too excited about this. He didn't think the Dursleys would like him any better in Majorca than they did on Privet Drive.**

"If they'd even take me," Harry muttered.

"**Right — I'm off into town to pick up the dinner jackets for Dudley and me. And you," he snarled at Harry. "You stay out of your aunt's way while she's cleaning."**

"At least you don't have to clean too," Hermione said.

**Harry left through the back door. It was a brilliant, sunny day. He crossed the lawn, slumped down on the garden bench, and sang under his breath:**

"**Happy birthday to me… happy birthday to me…" **_(You have to admit this is pretty sad)_

"Oh Harry," Hermione said sadly giving him a hug as many other looked at him sadly.

**No cards, no presents, and he would be spending the evening pretending not to exist. He gazed miserably into the hedge. He had never felt so lonely. More than anything else at Hogwarts, more even than playing Quidditch, Harry missed his best friends, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger.**

The two smiled at Harry, "We missed you too."

"I wished I had known that at the time," Harry said sighing.

**They, however, didn't seem to be missing him at all. Neither of them had written to him all summer, even though Ron had said he was going to ask Harry to come and stay.**

Mrs. Weasley looked confused, "I thought you did write to him Ron, and I'm sure you did too Hermione."

"We did," said Ron.

"He just didn't get our letters," Hermione explained.

"But why?" asked Mrs. Weasley

"You'll find out soon," Harry said.

**Countless times, Harry had been on the point of unlocking Hedwig's cage by magic and sending her to Ron and Hermione with a letter, but it wasn't worth the risk. Underage wizards weren't allowed to use magic outside of school. Harry hadn't told the Dursleys this; he knew it was only their terror that he might turn them all into dung beetles that stopped them from locking him in the cupboard under the stairs with his wand and broomstick.**

"Well I suppose if they've done it before they do it again," Hermione said angrily.

**For the first couple of weeks back, Harry had enjoyed muttering nonsense words under his breath and watching Dudley tearing out of the room as fast as his fat legs would carry him. But the long silence from Ron and Hermione had made Harry feel so cut off from the magical world that even taunting Dudley had lost its appeal — and now Ron and Hermione had forgotten his birthday.**

"We would never," Hermione said.

**What wouldn't he give now for a message from Hogwarts? From any witch or wizard? He'd almost be glad of a sight of his archenemy, Draco Malfoy, just to be sure it hadn't all been a dream…**

**Not that his whole year at Hogwarts had been fun. At the very end of last term, Harry had come face-to-face with none other than Lord Voldemort himself. Voldemort might be a ruin of his former self, but he was still terrifying, still cunning, still determined to regain power. Harry had slipped through Voldemort's clutches for a second time, but it had been a narrow escape, and even now, weeks later, Harry kept waking in the night, drenched in cold sweat, wondering where Voldemort was now, remembering his livid face, his wide, mad eyes —**

**Harry suddenly sat bolt upright on the garden bench. He had been staring absent-mindedly into the hedge — and the hedge was staring back. Two enormous green eyes had appeared among the leaves.**

"What is it?" Tonks wondered.

**Harry jumped to his feet just as a jeering voice floated across the lawn.**

"**I know what day it is," sang Dudley, waddling toward him.**

"Good for you" Ginny said.

**The huge eyes blinked and vanished.**

"**What?" said Harry, not taking his eyes off the spot where they had been.**

"**I know what day it is," Dudley repeated, coming right up to him.**

"**Well done," said Harry. "So you've finally learned the days of the week."**

Laughter filled the room.

"**Today's your birthday," sneered Dudley. "How come you haven't got any cards? Haven't you even got friends at that freak place?"**

"The best friends that anyone could ask for," Harry said.

"**Better not let your mum hear you talking about my school," said Harry coolly.**

**Dudley hitched up his trousers, which were slipping down his fat bottom.**

"**Why're you staring at the hedge?" he said suspiciously.**

"**I'm trying to decide what would be the best spell to set it on fire," said Harry.**

"Harry!" Hermione said while the others laughed though she had a small smile on her face, "I don't think that was a good idea."

**Dudley stumbled backward at once, a look of panic on his fat face.**

"**You c-can't — Dad told you you're not to do m-magic — he said he'll chuck you out of the house — and you haven't got anywhere else to go — you haven't got any friends to take you —"**

"Sure he does," Ron said.

"**Jiggery pokery!" said Harry in a fierce voice. "Hocus pocus — squiggly wiggly —"**

"He actually thought that was a spell?" Ginny said shaking her head.

"**MUUUUUUM!" howled Dudley, tripping over his feet as he dashed back toward the house. "MUUUUM! He's doing you know what!"**

"See what I mean he shouldn't have done that," Hermione said.

**Harry paid dearly for his moment of fun. As neither Dudley nor the hedge was in any way hurt, Aunt Petunia knew he hadn't really done magic, but he still had to duck as she aimed a heavy blow at his head with the soapy frying pan.**

"SHE WHAT?" yelled Mrs. Weasley.

"I can't believe she threw a frying pan at you," Hermione said outraged.

"It didn't hit me," shrugged Harry.

**Then she gave him work to do, with the promise he wouldn't eat again until he'd finished.**

"Figures," Ginny sighed.

**While Dudley lolled around watching and eating ice cream, Harry cleaned the windows, washed the car, mowed the lawn, trimmed the flowerbeds, pruned and watered the roses, and repainted the garden bench.**

**The sun blazed overhead, burning the back of his neck. Harry knew he shouldn't have risen to Dudley's bait, but Dudley had said the very thing Harry had been thinking himself… maybe he didn't have any friends at Hogwarts…**

"How could you think that," Ron said.

"You were my first friends, it seemed too good to be true," Harry said shrugging.

**Wish they could see famous Harry Potter now, he thought savagely as he spread manure on the flower beds, his back aching, sweat running down his face.**

Ron frowned, that sure wasn't how he would have imagined Harry spending his summers and he was sure many other people wouldn't have thought so either.

**It was half past seven in the evening when at last, exhausted, he heard Aunt Petunia calling him.**

"**Get in here! And walk on the newspaper!"**

**Harry moved gladly into the shade of the gleaming kitchen. On top of the fridge stood tonight's pudding: a huge mound of whipped cream and sugared violets. A loin of roast pork was sizzling in the oven.**

"I'm guessing you don't get any," Ginny frowned.

"**Eat quickly! The Masons will be here soon!" snapped Aunt Petunia, pointing to two slices of bread and a lump of cheese on the kitchen table. She was already wearing a salmon-pink cocktail dress.**

Mrs. Weasley frowned looking at Harry, "Are you hungry dear?"

**Harry washed his hands and bolted down his pitiful supper. The moment he had finished, Aunt Petunia whisked away his plate. "Upstairs! Hurry!"**

**As he passed the door to the living room, Harry caught a glimpse of Uncle Vernon and Dudley in bow ties and dinner jackets. He had only just reached the upstairs landing when the door bell rang and Uncle Vernon's furious face appeared at the foot of the stairs.**

"**Remember, boy — one sound —"**

**Harry crossed to his bedroom on tiptoe slipped inside, closed the door, and turned to collapse on his bed. The trouble was, there was already someone sitting on it.**

"Who?" Tonks asked confused.

Harry sighed as much as he loved Dobby he sure did cause him a lot of trouble even if he was just trying to help.

Mrs. Weasley passed the book to Hermione.


	2. Dobby's Warning

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything from the wonderful Harry Potter world.**

**A/N: Okay so I'm looking at my other story the first of this series and I noticed I published it on 11-11-11. This one was published on Canada Day hopefully the next one will be a special day too. Oh and sorry about the last chapter being really short I really wanted to post it today so I was in kind of a rush. Oh and lastly I was so surprised by all the emails I got of favourite story and author and story alerts and author alerts. Thanks everybody it's nice to know someone reads this even if they don't review. **

_**To reader with concerns regarding my dislike for a Ronald Weasley: I agree that he isn't THAT bad but I just don't like him. I admit he isn't a bad person or anything but he still has made some dumb choices. I have read all the books several times and I do like Snape. I don't know what made you think I didn't? Is it because of what the characters think of him because the last they saw of him he killed Dumbledore soo… plus you have to admit he was still a jerk for most of the time.**_

Dobby's Warning

"**Dobby's Warning**," read Hermione.

"Why would Dobby be warning you?" Tonks asked.

"Doesn't matter he won't listen either way," Hermione said.

"Won't stop Dobby from trying," muttered Ron.

"He sure did cause a lot of trouble trying to warn me," Harry whispered to Ron.

"All for nothing," Ron replied shaking his head.

**Harry managed not to shout out, but it was a close thing. The little creature on the bed had large, bat-like ears and bulging green eyes the size of tennis balls.**

"What's his doing at your house?" asked Remus.

**Harry knew instantly that this was what had been watching him out of the garden hedge that morning.**

**As they stared at each other, Harry heard Dudley's voice from the hall.**

"**May I take your coats, Mr. and Mrs. Mason?"**

Harry rolled his eyes.

**The creature slipped off the bed and bowed so low that the end of its long, thin nose touched the carpet. Harry noticed that it was wearing what looked like an old pillowcase, with rips for arm- and leg-holes.**

"It's horrible how house elves are treated," Hermione frowned.

Ron rolled his eyes, "We don't have time for one of your stupid SPEW rants."

"There not stupid Ronald and neither is SPEW," Hermione yelled.

"Maybe we should keep reading," Harry interrupted the two who were glaring at each other.

"**Er — hello," said Harry nervously.**

"**Harry Potter!" said the creature in a high-pitched voice Harry was sure would carry down the stairs. "So long has Dobby wanted to meet you, sir… Such an honour it is…"**

"**Th-thank you," said Harry, edging along the wall and sinking into his desk chair, next to Hedwig, who was asleep in her large cage. He wanted to ask, "What are you?" but thought it would sound too rude, so instead he said, "Who are you?"**

Hermione smiled at Harry, "Good choice."

"It's not like Dobby would have cared," muttered Ron unheard by Hermione.

"**Dobby, sir. Just Dobby. Dobby the house-elf," said the creature.**

"**Oh — really?" said Harry. "Er — I don't want to be rude or anything, but — this isn't a great time for me to have a house-elf in my bedroom."**

**Aunt Petunias high, false laugh sounded from the living room. The elf hung his head.**

"Harry! Don't be so mean," Hermione said.

"**Not that I'm not pleased to meet you," said Harry quickly, "but, er, is there any particular reason you're here?"**

"**Oh, yes, sir," said Dobby earnestly. "Dobby has come to tell you, sir… it is difficult, sir… Dobby wonders where to begin…"**

"**Sit down," said Harry politely, pointing at the bed.**

**To his horror, the elf burst into tears — very noisy tears.**

"His family must treat him really bad," Charlie said grimacing.

"Shouldn't be a privilege to sit down," muttered Hermione.

**"S-sit down!" he wailed. "Never… never ever…"**

**Harry thought he heard the voices downstairs falter.**

"**I'm sorry," he whispered, "I didn't mean to offend you or anything —"**

"**Offend Dobby!" choked the elf. "Dobby has never been asked to sit down by a wizard — like an equal —"**

**Harry, trying to say "Shh!" and look comforting at the same time, ushered Dobby back onto the bed where he sat hiccoughing, looking like a large and very ugly doll. At last he managed to control himself, and sat with his great eyes fixed on Harry in an expression of watery adoration.**

"**You can't have met many decent wizards," said Harry, trying to cheer him up.**

Ginny shook her head.

**Dobby shook his head. Then, without warning, he leapt up and started banging his head furiously on the window, shouting, "Bad Dobby! Bad Dobby!"**

"What's he doing?" asked Fleur.

"You can't speak ill of your masters," Bill explained.

**"Don't — what are you doing?" Harry hissed, springing up and pulling Dobby back onto the bed — Hedwig had woken up with a particularly loud screech and was beating her wings wildly against the bars of her cage.**

"The Dursleys will be coming up soon," George pointed out.

"**Dobby had to punish himself, sir," said the elf, who had gone slightly cross-eyed. "Dobby almost spoke ill of his family, sir…"**

"**Your family?"**

"**The wizard family Dobby serves, sir… Dobby is a house-elf — bound to serve one house and one family forever…"**

Hermione huffed.

"**Do they know you're here?" asked Harry curiously.**

"I doubt it," Ginny said.

**Dobby shuddered.**

"**Oh, no, sir, no… Dobby will have to punish himself most grievously for coming to see you, sir. Dobby will have to shut his ears in the oven door for this. If they ever knew, sir —"**

Ginny grimaced.

"**But won't they notice if you shut your ears in the oven door?"**

"**Dobby doubts it, sir. Dobby is always having to punish himself for something, sir. They lets Dobby get on with it, sir. Sometimes they reminds me to do extra punishments…"**

"Zat iz 'orrible," Fleur said cringing.

"**But why don't you leave? Escape?"**

"He can't," Tonks said.

"**A house-elf must be set free, sir. And the family will never set Dobby free… Dobby will serve the family until he dies, sir…"**

**Harry stared.**

"**And I thought I had it bad staying here for another four weeks," he said. "This makes the Dursleys sound almost human. Can't anyone help you? Can't I?" Almost at once, Harry wished he hadn't spoken. Dobby dissolved again into wails of gratitude.**

"**Please," Harry whispered frantically, "please be quiet. If the Dursleys hear anything, if they know you're here —"**

"It will be hard to hide that from their guests," Ron said.

"**Harry Potter asks if he can help Dobby… Dobby has heard of your greatness, sir, but of your goodness, Dobby never knew…"**

Harry blushed.

**Harry, who was feeling distinctly hot in the face, said, "Whatever you've heard about my greatness is a load of rubbish. I'm not even top of my year at Hogwarts; that's Hermione, she —"**

It was Hermione's turn to blush.

**But he stopped quickly, because thinking about Hermione was painful.**

Hermione grimaced, she hadn't realized Harry had thought that over that summer.

**"Harry Potter is humble and modest," said Dobby reverently, his orb-like eyes aglow. "Harry Potter speaks not of his triumph over He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named —"**

"Dobby thinks very highly of you," Ginny smirked.****

"Voldemort?" said Harry.

Dobby clapped his hands over his bat ears and moaned, "Ah, speak not the name, sir! Speak not the name!"

"Sorry," said Harry quickly. "I know lots of people don't like it. My friend Ron —"

He stopped again. Thinking about Ron was painful, too.

"I just don't see how you could think that after what happened," Hermione frowned.

"I already explained this," Harry said.

"I know but still…" Hermione said.

**Dobby leaned toward Harry, his eyes wide as headlights.**

"Dobby heard tell," he said hoarsely, "that Harry Potter met the Dark Lord for a second time just weeks ago… that Harry Potter escaped yet again."

"At 11," Mrs. Weasley said shaking her head.

**Harry nodded and Dobby's eyes suddenly shone with tears.**

"**Ah, sir," he gasped, dabbing his face with a corner of the grubby pillowcase he was wearing. "Harry Potter is valiant and bold! He has braved so many dangers already! But Dobby has come to protect Harry Potter, to warn him, even if he does have to shut his ears in the oven door later… Harry Potter must not go back to Hogwarts."**

"He's not going to stay there," Ron said.

"I don't blame him," Ginny nodded.

"There is no way you will be able to get Harry to stay there," Hermione agreed.

**There was a silence broken only by the chink of knives and forks from downstairs and the distant rumble of Uncle Vernon's voice.**

"**W-what?" Harry stammered. "But I've got to go back — term starts on September first. It's all that's keeping me going. You don't know what it's like here. I don't belong here. I belong in your world — at Hogwarts."**

Harry nodded.

"**No, no, no," squeaked Dobby, shaking his head so hard his ears flapped. "Harry Potter must stay where he is safe. He is too great, too good, to lose. If Harry Potter goes back to Hogwarts, he will be in mortal danger."**

"When aren't I?" muttered Harry.

"**Why?" said Harry in surprise.**

"**There is a plot, Harry Potter. A plot to make most terrible things happen at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry this year," whispered Dobby, suddenly trembling all over. "Dobby has known it for months, sir. Harry Potter must not put himself in peril. He is too important, sir!"**

"His family is the one plotting it," Charlie said.

"He won't be able to give you any details then," Bill pointed out.

"It's surprising he was even able to tell you that," Mr. Weasley agreed.

Nobody had noticed Ginny's reaction as she remembered that horrible year.

"**What terrible things?" said Harry at once. "Who's plotting them?"**

"If only he could just tell you that so you don't have to figure it out," Hermione sighed.

**Dobby made a funny choking noise and then banged his head frantically against the wall.**

"See what I mean," Bill said, "Asking him questions is just a waste of time."

"Not to mention it's hurting him," Hermione said.

"**All right!" cried Harry, grabbing the elf's arm to stop him. "You can't tell me. I understand. But why are you warning me?" A sudden, unpleasant thought struck him. "Hang on — this hasn't got anything to do with Vol — sorry — with You-Know-Who, has it? You could just shake or nod," he added hastily as Dobby's head tilted worryingly close to the wall again.**

**Slowly, Dobby shook his head.**

"**Not — not He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, sir —"**

"But I thought…?" Ron asked.

"It wasn't exactly him though just his memory," Hermione explained.

**But Dobby's eyes were wide and he seemed to be trying to give Harry a hint. Harry, however, was completely lost.**

"It seems so obvious now," Harry said shaking his head.

"Well if you didn't know it could mean a lot of things," Hermione said.

"**He hasn't got a brother, has he?"**

Remus shook his head, "I don't think that's what he means." _**(A/N: The Weasley family might know about this year but I doubt Remus and Tonks would know too much)**_

**Dobby shook his head, his eyes wider than ever.**

**"Well then, I can't think who else would have a chance of making horrible things happen at Hogwarts," said Harry. "I mean, there's Dumbledore, for one thing — you know who Dumbledore is, don't you?"**

"**Everyone knows who Dumbledore is," Ron scoffed.**

"Muggles don't," Hermione argued," Muggle-borns might not at first either**."**

**Dobby bowed his head.**

"**Albus Dumbledore is the greatest headmaster Hogwarts has ever had. Dobby knows it, sir. Dobby has heard Dumbledore's powers rival those of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named at the height of his strength. But, sir" — Dobby's voice dropped to an urgent whisper — "there are powers Dumbledore doesn't… powers no decent wizard…"**

"I wonder what he talking about," Tonks said.

Harry was positive he knew what Dobby was talking about, horcruxes.

"You might have to wait awhile before you find out what he was talking about," Harry told them.

**And before Harry could stop him, Dobby bounded off the bed, seized Harry's desk lamp, and started beating himself around the head with earsplitting yelps.**

"That's horrible do something," Hermione said.

"Even worse the Dursleys probably heard him," George grimaced.

**A sudden silence fell downstairs. Two seconds later Harry, heart thudding madly, heard Uncle Vernon coming into the hall, calling, "Dudley must have left his television on again, the little tyke!"**

"Little?" Harry snorted.

"**Quick! In the closet!" hissed Harry, stuffing Dobby in, shutting the door, and flinging himself onto the bed just as the door handle turned.**

"Why would you do that?" Fred asked, "I'm sure your uncle would love to meet Dobby."

"I'm sure he's always wanted to meet a house elf," George added smirking.

"**What — the —devil — are — you — doing?" said Uncle Vernon through gritted teeth, his face horribly close to Harry's. "You've just ruined the punch line of my Japanese golfer joke… One more sound and you'll wish you'd never been born, boy!"**

"I doubt it was that funny anyway," Tonks said rolling her eyes.

**He stomped flat-footed from the room.**

**Shaking, Harry let Dobby out of the closet.**

"**See what it's like here?" he said. "See why I've got to go back to Hogwarts? It's the only place I've got — well, I think I've got friends."**

"You do," Hermione nodded.

"**Friends who don't even write to Harry Potter?" said Dobby slyly.**

"Wait how does he know that?" questioned Charlie.

"He was stopping your mail?" Ginny gasped joining the conversation again.

"Oh it doesn't end there," Ron sighed.

"Well he was just trying to help me," Harry pointed out.

"**I expect they've just been — wait a minute," said Harry, frowning. "How do you know my friends haven't been writing to me?"**

**Dobby shuffled his feet.**

"**Harry Potter mustn't be angry with Dobby. Dobby did it for the best —"**

"**Have you been stopping my letters?"**

**"Dobby has them here, sir," said the elf. Stepping nimbly out of Harry's reach, he pulled a thick wad of envelopes from the inside of the pillowcase he was wearing. Harry could make out Hermione's neat writing, Ron's untidy scrawl, and even a scribble that looked as though it was from the Hogwarts gamekeeper, Hagrid.**

"Looks like you did write him a lot of letters," Remus chuckled.

**Dobby blinked anxiously up at Harry.**

"**Harry Potter mustn't be angry… Dobby hoped… if Harry Potter thought his friends had forgotten him… Harry Potter might not want to go back to school, sir…"**

"It would take a lot more than that," Harry said.

**Harry wasn't listening. He made a grab for the letters, but Dobby jumped out of reach.**

"**Harry Potter will have them, sir, if he gives Dobby his word that he will not return to Hogwarts. Ah, sir, this is a danger you must not face! Say you won't go back, sir!"**

"That'll never happen," Ron said.

"**No," said Harry angrily. "Give me my friends' letters!"**

"Why not just lie to him," Fred suggested.

"I…well… I mean it didn't occur to me," Harry shrugged.

"It's probably a good thing you didn't he might have done something to stop you from being able to go," Hermione said.

"**Then Harry Potter leaves Dobby no choice," said the elf sadly.**

**Before Harry could move, Dobby had darted to the bedroom door, pulled it open, and sprinted down the stairs.**

"What's he doing?" Bill asked confused.

"Nothing good," Tonks grimaced.

**Mouth dry, stomach lurching, Harry sprang after him, trying not to make a sound. He jumped the last six steps, landing catlike on the hall carpet, looking around for Dobby. From the dining room he heard Uncle Vernon saying, "… tell Petunia that very funny story about those American plumbers, Mr. Mason. She's been dying to hear…"**

**Harry ran up the hall into the kitchen and felt his stomach disappear.**

**Aunt Petunia's masterpiece of a pudding, the mountain of cream and sugared violets, was floating up near the ceiling. On top of a cupboard in the corner crouched Dobby.**

"He's not going to…" Hermione groaned.

"**No," croaked Harry. "Please… they'll kill me…"**

"**Harry Potter must say he's not going back to school —"**

"**Dobby… please…"**

"**Say it, sir —"**

"**I can't —"**

**Dobby gave him a tragic look.**

"**Then Dobby must do it, sir, for Harry Potter's own good."**

"NOO!" shouted a few people who were caught up in the books.

**The pudding fell to the floor with a heart-stopping crash. Cream splattered the windows and walls as the dish shattered. With a crack like a whip, Dobby vanished.**

Everyone one grimaced, this couldn't be good.

**There were screams from the dining room and Uncle Vernon burst into the kitchen to find Harry, rigid with shock, covered from head to foot in Aunt Petunia's pudding.**

**At first, it looked as though Uncle Vernon would manage to gloss the whole thing over. ("Just our nephew —very disturbed — meeting strangers upsets him, so we kept him upstairs…") He shooed the shocked Masons back into the dining room, promised Harry he would flay him to within an inch of his life when the Masons had left, and handed him a mop. Aunt Petunia dug some ice cream out of the freezer and Harry, still shaking, started scrubbing the kitchen clean.**

**Uncle Vernon might still have been able to make his deal — if it hadn't been for the owl.**

"The restriction of underage sorcery," Remus grimaced.

"But Harry didn't do anything," Ron said.

"They don't know that," Remus explained.

"It just doesn't seem fair, they should fix that," Hermione said.

**Aunt Petunia was just passing around a box of after-dinner mints when a huge barn owl swooped through the dining room window, dropped a letter on Mrs. Mason's head, and swooped out again. Mrs. Mason screamed like a banshee and ran from the house shouting about lunatics. Mr. Mason stayed just long enough to tell the Dursleys that his wife was mortally afraid of birds of all shapes and sizes, and to ask whether this was their idea of a joke.**

**Harry stood in the kitchen, clutching the mop for support, as Uncle Vernon advanced on him, a demonic glint in his tiny eyes.**

"**Read it!" he hissed evilly, brandishing the letter the owl had delivered. "Go on — read it!"**

**Harry took it. It did not contain birthday greetings.**

**Dear Mr. Potter,**

**We have received intelligence that a Hover Charm was used at your place of residence this evening at twelve minutes past nine.**

**As you know, underage wizards are not permitted to perform spells outside school, and further spellwork on your part may lead to expulsion from said school. (Decree for the Reasonable Restriction of Underage Sorcery, 1875, Paragraph C).**

**We would also ask you to remember that any magical activity that risks notice by members of the non magical community (Muggles) is a serious offense under section 13 of the International Confederation of Warlocks' Statute of Secrecy.**

**Enjoy your holidays!**

**Yours sincerely,**

**Mafalda Hopkirk**

**IMPROPER USE OF MAGIC OFFICE**

**Ministry of Magic**

"Now they'll know you can't use magic outside of school," George groaned.

**Harry looked up from the letter and gulped.**

"**You didn't tell us you weren't allowed to use magic outside school," said Uncle Vernon, a mad gleam dancing in his eyes. "Forgot to mention it… Slipped your mind, I daresay…"**

"This isn't going to end well," Ginny frowned.

Ron and the twins thought back to the bars that were on Harry's windows.

**He was bearing down on Harry like a great bulldog, all his teeth bared. "Well, I've got news for you, boy… I'm locking you up… You're never going back to that school… never… and if you try and magic yourself out — they'll expel you!"**

"He can't do that," shouted Hermione.

"Don't worry," said the twins, "We'll get him out of this."

**And laughing like a maniac, he dragged Harry back upstairs.**

"They're going to lock you up," Hermione said angrily.

**Uncle Vernon was as bad as his word. The following morning, he paid a man to fit bars on Harry's window. He himself fitted a cat-flap in the bedroom door, so that small amounts of food could be pushed inside three times a day. They let Harry out to use the bathroom morning and evening. Otherwise, he was locked in his room around the clock.**

"They are treating you like a prisoner!" shouted Mrs. Weasley outraged.

"How could anybody do this to a child," Mr. Weasley shook his head.

"This is abuse," Hermione growled.

**Three days later, the Dursleys were showing no sign of relenting, and Harry couldn't see any way out of his situation. He lay on his bed watching the sun sinking behind the bars on the window and wondered miserably what was going to happen to him.**

"If I ever meet them…," thought Remus.****

What was the good of magicking himself out of his room if Hogwarts would expel him for doing it? Yet life at Privet Drive had reached an all-time low. Now that the Dursleys knew they weren't going to wake up as fruit bats, he had lost his only weapon. Dobby might have saved Harry from horrible happenings at Hogwarts, but the way things were going, he'd probably starve to death anyway.

"Oh Harry I can't believe they did this to you," Hermione said.

"I can't believe you lived there for that long," Ginny said shaking her head.

"You'll never have to go back there again," Mrs. Weasley said to Harry.****

The cat-flap rattled and Aunt Petunias hand appeared, pushing a bowl of canned soup into the room. Harry, whose insides were aching with hunger, jumped off his bed and seized it. The soup was stone-cold, but he drank half of it in one gulp. Then he crossed the room to Hedwig's cage and tipped the soggy vegetables at the bottom of the bowl into her empty food tray. She ruffled her feathers and gave him a look of deep disgust.

"That's so sweet," cooed Hermione.****

"It's no good turning your beak up at it — that's all we've got," said Harry grimly.

Ron sat there beginning to realize how bad Harry's home life really was, he knew they didn't get along but he never really thought that it went this far.

**He put the empty bowl back on the floor next to the cat-flap and lay back down on the bed, somehow even hungrier than he had been before the soup.**

**Supposing he was still alive in another four weeks,**

"Stop saying stuff like that," Ginny said.

**what would happen if he didn't turn up at Hogwarts? Would someone be sent to see why he hadn't come back? Would they be able to make the Dursleys let him go?**

"Of course, we wouldn't let that happen," Hermione said.

**The room was growing dark. Exhausted, stomach rumbling, mind spinning over the same unanswerable questions, Harry fell into an uneasy sleep.**

**He dreamed that he was on show in a zoo, with a card reading UNDERAGE WIZARD attached to his cage. People goggled through the bars at him as he lay, starving and weak, on a bed of straw. He saw Dobby's face in the crowd and shouted out, asking for help, but Dobby called, "Harry Potter is safe there, sir!" and vanished. Then the Dursleys appeared and Dudley rattled the bars of the cage, laughing at him.**

"You 'ave strange dreams," Fleur commented.

Harry couldn't help but thing about the dreams he would be having soon, the dreams that ultimately lead to Sirius' death.

"**Stop it," Harry muttered as the rattling pounded in his sore head. "Leave me alone… cut it out… I'm trying to sleep…"**

**He opened his eyes. Moonlight was shining through the bars on the window. And someone was goggling through the bars at him: a freckle-faced, red-haired, long-nosed someone.**

"Ron!" Hermione smiled, "Thank goodness."

**Ron Weasley was outside Harry's window.**

"See mom are you glad we saved him now?" Fred asked.

Mrs. Weasley though for a moment before saying, "I suppose it's better than him being there with those monsters."

Hermione passed the book to Ginny.


	3. The Burrow

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything from the wonderful Harry Potter world.**

**A/N: I really won't be updating much because I'm on vacation. I'll be spending time with family I never see so I just won't have much time. I'll try to update at least once a week while I'm gone and I'll be away from internet some weeks so if I don't update that's why. Don't give up on this story okay?**

The Burrow

"**The Burrow**," read Ginny.

"Finally somewhere nice," said Charlie.

**"Ron." breathed Harry, creeping to the window and pushing it up so they could talk through the bars. "Ron, how did you —? What the**—?"

**Harry's mouth fell open as the full impact of what he was seeing hit him. Ron was leaning out of the back window of an old turquoise car, which was parked in midair.**

Mrs. Weasley frowned as Mr. Weasley tried to hide his excitement.

**Grinning at Harry from the front seats were Fred and George, Ron's elder twin brothers.**

Said twins grinned.

"**All right, Harry?" asked George.**

"**What's been going on?" said Ron. "Why haven't you been answering my letters? I've asked you to stay about twelve times, and then Dad came home and said you'd got an official warning for using magic in front of Muggles —"**

"Well it wasn't me," huffed Harry.

"How was I supposed to know?" asked Ron.

"At least someone noticed and saved you," Tonks said.

**"It wasn't me — and how did he know?"**

"**He works for the Ministry," said Ron. "You know we're not supposed to do spells outside school —"**

"**You should talk," said Harry, staring at the floating car.**

"We didn't actually do any magic," corrected Ron.

Harry rolled his eyes at this.

"**Oh, this doesn't count," said Ron. "We're only borrowing this. It's Dad's, we didn't enchant it. But doing magic in front of those Muggles you live with —"**

"Weren't you listening," Hermione said letting out a sigh, "he said he didn't do it."

**"I told you, I didn't — but it'll take too long to explain now — look, can you tell them at Hogwarts that the Dursleys have locked me up and won't let me come back, and obviously I can't magic myself out, because the Ministry'll think that's the second spell I've done in three days, so —"**

Charlie snorted, "They aren't going to leave you there."

"You can be so daft sometimes," Ginny said.

"Ginny," Mrs. Weasley reprimanded.

"**Stop gibbering," said Ron. "We've come to take you home with us."**

"**But you can't magic me out either —"**

"**We don't need to," said Ron, jerking his head toward the front seat and grinning. "You forget who I've got with me."**

"This will be good," Bill said smirking.

"**Tie that around the bars," said Fred, throwing the end of a rope to Harry.**

"**If the Dursleys wake up, I'm dead," said Harry as he tied the rope tightly around a bar and Fred revved up the car.**

"**Don't worry," said Fred, "and stand back."**

**Harry moved back into the shadows next to Hedwig, who seemed to have realized how important this was and kept still and silent. **

"Smart owl," Hermione said smiling.

**The car revved louder and louder and suddenly, with a crunching noise, the bars were pulled clean out of the window as Fred drove straight up in the air. Harry ran back to the window to see the bars dangling a few feet above the ground. Panting, Ron hoisted them up into the car. Harry listened anxiously, but there was no sound from the Dursleys' bedroom.**

"I have a feeling that won't last," Ginny aid cringing.

**When the bars were safely in the back seat with Ron, Fred reversed as close as possible to Harry's window.**

"**Get in," Ron said.**

"What about iz zings?" asked Fleur

"**But all my Hogwarts stuff — my wand — my broomstick —"**

"**Where is it?"**

"**Locked in the cupboard under the stairs, and I can't get out of this room —"**

"**No problem," said George from the front passenger seat. "Out of the way, Harry."**

**Fred and George climbed catlike through the window into Harry's room. You had to hand it to them, thought Harry, as George took an ordinary hairpin from his pocket and started to pick the lock.**

Mrs. Weasley shook her head, "I can't believe you two."

"It's a good skill to know," defended George.

"**A lot of wizards think it's a waste of time, knowing this sort of Muggle trick," said Fred, "but we feel they're skills worth learning, even if they are a bit slow."**

**There was a small click and the door swung open.**

"**So — we'll get your trunk — you grab anything you need from your room and hand it out to Ron," whispered George.**

"**Watch out for the bottom stair — it creaks," Harry whispered back as the twins disappeared onto the dark landing.**

**Harry dashed around his room, collecting his things and passing them out of the window to Ron. Then he went to help Fred and George heave his trunk up the stairs. Harry heard Uncle Vernon cough.**

"I have a bad feeling," Hermione said seeing Harry grimace.

**At last, panting, they reached the landing, then carried the trunk through Harry's room to the open window. Fred climbed back into the car to pull with Ron, and Harry and George pushed from the bedroom side. Inch by inch, the trunk slid through the window.**

**Uncle Vernon coughed again.**

"Hurry up," Tonks said.

"**A bit more," panted Fred, who was pulling from inside the car. "One good push"**

**Harry and George threw their shoulders against the trunk and it slid out of the window into the back seat of the car.**

"**Okay, let's go," George whispered.**

"You forgot Hedwig!" Ginny exclaimed.

"Harry, I can't believe you forgot her," Hermione said shaking her head.

"We were in a rush," Harry muttered trying to defend himself.

**But as Harry climbed onto the windowsill there came a sudden loud screech from behind him, followed immediately by the thunder of Uncle Vernon's voice.**

Everyone cringed.

"**THAT RUDDY OWL!"**

"**I've forgotten Hedwig!"**

**Harry tore back across the room as the landing light clicked on — he snatched up Hedwig's cage, dashed to the window, and passed it out to Ron. He was scrambling back onto the chest of drawers when Uncle Vernon hammered on the unlocked door — and it crashed open.**

"l would suggest hurrying up because if he gets his hands on you well… it won't be good," Charlie said cringing at the thought.

**For a split second, Uncle Vernon stood framed in the doorway; then he let out a bellow like an angry bull and dived at Harry, grabbing him by the ankle.**

"I just don't understand," said Hermione.

"What do you mean?" asked Ginny.

"If they hate Harry so much and wish he wasn't there why won't they let him leave?" Hermione explained.

"They want him to suffer?" suggest Ginny, "like you said they hate him."

Hermione just shrugged thinking, Remus had also began to think about it.

**Ron, Fred, and George seized Harry's arms and pulled as hard as they could.**

"**Petunia!" roared Uncle Vernon. "He's getting away! HE'S GETTING AWAY!"**

**But the Weasleys gave a gigantic tug and Harry's leg slid out of Uncle Vernon's grasp — Harry was in the car — he'd slammed the door shut —**

"Thank goodness," Mrs. Weasley said.

"**Put your foot down, Fred!" yelled Ron, and the car shot suddenly toward the moon.**

"Glad they're finally gone," Ginny said grinning.

**Harry couldn't believe it — he was free. He rolled down the window, the night air whipping his hair, and looked back at the shrinking rooftops of Privet Drive. Uncle Vernon, Aunt Petunia, and Dudley were all hanging, dumbstruck, out of Harry's window.**

"**See you next summer!" Harry yelled.**

"Unfortunately," Hermione sighed.

**The Weasleys roared with laughter and Harry settled back in his seat, grinning from ear to ear.**

"**Let Hedwig out," he told Ron. "She can fly behind us. She hasn't had a chance to stretch her wings for ages."**

"Honestly!" Mrs. Weasley groaned, "You too."

**George handed the hairpin to Ron and, a moment later, Hedwig soared joyfully out of the window to glide alongside them like a ghost.**

"**So — what's the story, Harry?" said Ron impatiently. "What's been happening?"**

**Harry told them all about Dobby, the warning he'd given Harry and the fiasco of the violet pudding. There was a long, shocked silence when he had finished.**

"**Very fishy," said Fred finally.**

"**Definitely dodgy" agreed George. "So he wouldn't even tell you who's supposed to be plotting all this stuff?"**

"He couldn't though," Hermione said defending him.

"**I don't think he could," said Harry. "I told you, every time he got close to letting something slip, he started banging his head against the wall."**  
**  
He saw Fred and George look at each other.  
**  
"**What, you think he was lying to me?" said Harry.**

"**Well," said Fred, "put it this way — house-elves have got powerful magic of their own, but they can't usually use it without their master's permission. I reckon old Dobby was sent to stop you coming back to Hogwarts. Someone's idea of a joke. Can you think of anyone at school with a grudge against you?"**

"Malfoy," Ginny said making a face.

"You know it's funny even though he wasn't sent by them they turned out to be his master," Ron said.

"**Yes," said Harry and Ron together, instantly.**

"**Draco Malfoy," Harry explained. "He hates me."**

**"Draco Malfoy?" said George, turning around. "Not Lucius Malfoy's son?"**

"The one and only," Ginny grumbled.

"**Must be, it's not a very common name, is it?" said Harry.**

"**I've heard Dad talking about him," said George. "He was a big supporter of You-Know-Who."**

Mr. Weasley grimaced.

"**And when You-Know-Who disappeared," said Fred, craning around to look at Harry, "Lucius Malfoy came back saying he'd never meant any of it. Load of dung — Dad reckons he was right in You- Know-Who's inner circle."**

"Bought his way out," Mrs. Weasley said.

**Harry had heard these rumours about Malfoy's family before, and they didn't surprise him at all. Malfoy made Dudley Dursley look like a kind, thoughtful, and sensitive boy…**

"**I don't know whether the Malfoys own a house-elf…" said Harry.**

"They would," Hermione said with venom in her voice.

"**Well, whoever owns him will be an old wizarding family, and they'll be rich," said Fred.**

"**Yeah, Mum's always wishing we had a house-elf to do the ironing," said George. "But all we've got is a lousy old ghoul in the attic and gnomes all over the garden. House-elves come with big old manors and castles and places like that; you wouldn't catch one in our house…"**

Hermione made a sound of disapproval.

**Harry was silent. Judging by the fact that Draco Malfoy usually had the best of everything, his family was rolling in wizard gold; he could just see Malfoy strutting around a large manor house. Sending the family servant to stop Harry from going back to Hogwarts also sounded exactly like the sort of thing Malfoy would do. Had Harry been stupid to take Dobby seriously?**

"**I'm glad we came to get you, anyway," said Ron. "I was getting really worried when you didn't answer any of my letters. I thought it was Errol's fault at first —"**

"Wouldn't be surprising," Ginny said.

"That poor owl," Hermione said.

"**Who's Errol?"**

"**Our owl. He's ancient. It wouldn't be the first time he'd collapsed on a delivery. So then I tried to borrow Hermes —"**

"**Who?"**

"**The owl Mum and Dad bought Percy when he was made prefect," said Fred from the front.**

The Weasley family was filled with frowns.

"**But Percy wouldn't lend him to me," said Ron. "Said he needed him."**

"Git," muttered George.

"**Percy's been acting very oddly this summer," said George, frowning. "And he has been sending a lot of letters and spending a load of time shut up in his room… I mean, there's only so many times you can polish a prefect badge… You're driving too far west, Fred," he added, pointing at a compass on the dashboard. Fred twiddled the steering wheel.**

**"So, does your dad know you've got the car?" said Harry, guessing the answer.**

"Of course," Fred said.

"We would _never_ just take it," George added.

"**Er, no," said Ron, "he had to work tonight. Hopefully we'll be able to get it back in the garage without Mum noticing we flew it."**

Ginny laughed, "As if that would happen."

**"What does your dad do at the Ministry of Magic, anyway?"**

"**He works in the most boring department," said Ron. "The Misuse of Muggle Artifacts Office."**

"It's not boring," Mr. Weasley said frowning.

"Of course not dear," Mrs. Weasley said trying to reassure him.

"**The what?"**

"**It's all to do with bewitching things that are Muggle-made, you know, in case they end up back in a Muggle shop or house. Like, last year, some old witch died and her tea set was sold to an antiques shop. This Muggle woman bought it, took it home, and tried to serve her friends tea in it. It was a nightmare — Dad was working overtime for weeks."**

"What happened to it?" Hermione asked.

"**What happened?"**

"**The teapot went berserk and squirted boiling tea all over the place and one man ended up in the hospital with the sugar tongs clamped to his nose. Dad was going frantic — it's only him and an old warlock called Perkins in the office — and they had to do Memory Charms and all sorts of stuff to cover it up —"**

"**But your dad — this car —"**

**Fred laughed. "Yeah, Dad's crazy about everything to do with Muggles; our shed's full of Muggle stuff. He takes it apart, puts spells on it, and puts it back together again. If he raided our house he'd have to put himself under arrest. It drives Mum mad."**

Mr. Weasley gave his wife a small nervous smile.

"**That's the main road," said George, peering down through the windshield. "We'll be there in ten minutes… Just as well, it's getting light…"**

**A faint pinkish glow was visible along the horizon to the east.**

**Fred brought the car lower, and Harry saw a dark patchwork of fields and clumps of trees.**

"**We're a little way outside the village," said George. "Ottery St. Catchpole."**

**Lower and lower went the flying car. The edge of a brilliant red sun was now gleaming through the trees.**

"**Touchdown!" said Fred as, with a slight bump, they hit the ground. They had landed next to a tumbledown garage in a small yard, and Harry looked out for the first time at Ron's house.**

**It looked as though it had once been a large stone pigpen, but extra rooms had been added here and there until it was several stories high and so crooked it looked as though it were held up by magic (which Harry reminded himself, it probably was). Four or five chimneys were perched on top of the red roof. A lopsided sign stuck in the ground near the entrance read, THE BURROW. Around the front door lay a jumble of rubber boots and a very rusty cauldron. Several fat brown chickens were pecking their way around the yard.**

"It really is wonderful here," Hermione said.

"It's the perfect house," added Harry.

Mrs. Weasley smiled at the two.

"**It's not much," said Ron.**

"**It's wonderful," said Harry happily, thinking of Privet Drive.**

**They got out of the car.**

"**Now, we'll go upstairs really quietly," said Fred, "and wait for Mum to call us for breakfast Then, Ron, you come bounding downstairs going, 'Mum, look who turned up in the night!' and she'll be all pleased to see Harry and no one need ever know we flew the car."**

Hermione rolled her eyes, "Like she would ever believe that."

"You couldn't come up with anything better?" Ginny said.

"You can't get anything past her," Ron said.

"**Right," said Ron. "Come on, Harry, I sleep at the — at the top —"**

**Ron had gone a nasty greenish colour, his eyes fixed on the house. The other three wheeled around.**

"Here comes Molly," Remus said smirking.

"This is going to be good," Ginny said.

**Mrs. Weasley was marching across the yard, scattering chickens, and for a short, plump, kind-faced woman, it was remarkable how much she looked like a saber-toothed tiger.**

"You know Harry, you've got the most interesting descriptions," Hermione said.

**"Ah, "said Fred.**

"Oh, dear," said George.

Mrs. Weasley came to a halt in front of them, her hands on her hips, staring from one guilty face to the next. She was wearing a flowered apron with a wand sticking out of the pocket.

"So," she said.

"Morning, Mum," said George, in what he clearly thought was a jaunty, winning voice.

"Have you any idea how worried I've been?" said Mrs. Weasley in a deadly whisper.

"Sorry, Mum, but see, we had to —"

All three of Mrs. Weasley's sons were taller than she was, but they cowered as her rage broke over them.

"I don't know anyone who wouldn't," muttered Charlie.

**"Beds empty! No note! Car gone — could have crashed — out of my mind with worry — did you care? — never, as long as I've lived — you wait until your father gets home, we never had trouble like this from Bill or Charlie or Percy —"**

Ginny was clearly holding back from saying something about Percy not being so perfect.****

"Perfect Percy," muttered Fred.

"YOU COULD DO WITH TAKING A LEAF OUT OF PERCY'S BOOK!" yelled Mrs. Weasley, prodding a finger in Fred's chest. "You could have died, you could have been seen, you could have lost your father his job —"

It seemed to go on for hours. Mrs. Weasley had shouted herself hoarse before she turned on Harry, who backed away.

"Even Harry is scared," Bill said laughing.

"You didn't do anything wrong," Mrs. Weasley told Harry, "It wasn't your fault."

"**I'm very pleased to see you, Harry, dear," she said. "Come in and have some breakfast."**

**She turned and walked back into the house and Harry, after a nervous glance at Ron, who nodded encouragingly, followed her.**

"Why are you still scared?" asked Hermione, "She isn't mad at you."

"Well you didn't see her yelling at them," Harry argued.

**The kitchen was small and rather cramped. There was a scrubbed wooden table and chairs in the middle, and Harry sat down on the edge of his seat, looking around. He had never been in a wizard house before.**

**The clock on the wall opposite him had only one hand and no numbers at all. Written around the edge were things like Time to make tea, Time to feed the chickens, and You're late.**

**Books were stacked three deep on the mantelpiece, books with titles like Charm Your Own Cheese, Enchantment in Baking, and One Minute Feasts — It's Magic! And unless Harry's ears were deceiving him, the old radio next to the sink had just announced that coming up was "Witching Hour, with the popular singing sorceress, Celestina Warbeck."**

**Mrs. Weasley was clattering around, cooking breakfast a little haphazardly, throwing dirty looks at her sons as she threw sausages into the frying pan. Every now and then she muttered things like "don't know what you were thinking of," and "never would have believed it."**

"**I don't blame you, dear," she assured Harry, tipping eight or nine sausages onto his plate.**

"Finally you get some food," Tonks said.

"You must have been so hungry," Hermione added.

"**Arthur and I have been worried about you, too. Just last night we were saying we'd come and get you ourselves if you hadn't written back to Ron by Friday. But really," (she was now adding three fried eggs to his plate) "flying an illegal car halfway across the country — anyone could have seen you —"**

**She flicked her wand casually at the dishes in the sink, which began to clean themselves, clinking gently in the background.**

"**It was cloudy, Mum!" said Fred.**

"You still could have been seen," Mrs. Weasley scolded.

"**You keep your mouth closed while you're eating!" Mrs. Weasley snapped.**

"**They were starving him, Mum!" said George.**

"That will change her mood a bit," Tonks said.

**And you!" said Mrs. Weasley, but it was with a slightly softened expression that she started cutting Harry bread and buttering it for him.**

Harry smiled at Mrs. Weasley, over the years she had become like a mother to him.

**At that moment there was a diversion in the form of a small, redheaded figure in a long nightdress, who appeared in the kitchen, gave a small squeal, and ran out again.**

Ginny turned red and smacked Harry on the arm as he snickered along with the others.

**"Ginny," said Ron in an undertone to Harry. "My sister. She's been talking about you all summer."**

"Ron!" Ginny said still red, "I can't believe you told him that."

"It was true," replied Ron earning another glare from Ginny.

"**Yeah, she'll be wanting your autograph, Harry," Fred said with a grin,** **but he caught his mother's eye and bent his face over his plate without another word. **

Ginny stuck her tongue out at that.

**Nothing more was said until all four plates were clean, which took a surprisingly short time.**

"It's not surprising with mum's cooking," Bill said.

"**Blimey, I'm tired," yawned Fred, setting down his knife and fork at last. "I think I'll go to bed and —"**

"You're not getting away with it that easy," Remus said smiling.

**"You will not," snapped Mrs. Weasley. "It's your own fault you've been up all night. You're going to de-gnome the garden for me; they're getting completely out of hand again —"**

"**Oh, Mum —"**

"**And you two," she said, glaring at Ron and Fred. "You can go up to bed, dear," she added to Harry. "You didn't ask them to fly that wretched car —"**

**But Harry, who felt wide awake, said quickly, "I'll help Ron. I've never seen a de-gnoming —"**

"It's no big deal," Ginny said.

"**That's very sweet of you, dear, but it's dull work," said Mrs. Weasley. "Now, let's see what Lockhart's got to say on the subject —"**

"Ugh not him," groaned Ron.

"What's wrong with him?" Mrs. Weasley asked, "I wonder what ever happened to him…" _**(A/N: I really hope it doesn't turn out she knows what he did)**_

**And she pulled a heavy book from the stack on the mantelpiece. George groaned.**

"**Mum, we know how to de-gnome a garden —"**

**Harry looked at the cover of Mrs. Weasley's book. Written across it in fancy gold letters were the words Gilderoy Lockhart's Guide to Household Pests. There was a big photograph on the front of a very good-looking wizard with wavy blond hair and bright blue eyes. As always in the wizarding world, the photograph was moving; the wizard, who Harry supposed was Gilderoy Lockhart, kept winking cheekily up at them all. Mrs. Weasley beamed down at him.**

"**Oh, he is marvellous," she said. "He knows his household pests, all right, it's a wonderful book…"**

"**Mum fancies him," said Fred, in a very audible whisper.**

"I hear she wasn't the only one," George said looking at Hermione who blushed.

"Of course I didn't Fred that absolutely ridiculous," Mrs. Weasley said.

"**Don't be so ridiculous, Fred," said Mrs. Weasley, her cheeks rather pink. "All right, if you think you know better than Lockhart,**

"You'd have a hard time finding someone who didn't," said Ginny rolling her eyes.

**you can go and get on with it, and woe betide you if there's a single gnome in that garden when I come out to inspect it."**

**Yawning and grumbling, the Weasleys slouched outside with Harry behind them. The garden was large, and in Harry's eyes, exactly what a garden should be. The Dursleys wouldn't have liked it — there were plenty of weeds, and the grass needed cutting — but there were gnarled trees all around the walls, plants Harry had never seen spilling from every flower bed, and a big green pond full of frogs.**

Harry smiled at the memory.

"**Muggles have garden gnomes, too, you know," Harry told Ron they crossed the lawn.**

"**Yeah, I've seen those things they think are gnomes," said Ron, bent double with his head in a peony bush, "like fat little Santa Clauses with fishing rods…"**

Hermione scrunched up her nose, "Ugly things."

**There was a violent scuffling noise, the peony bush shuddered, and Ron straightened up. "This is a gnome," he said grimly.**

"**Gerroff me! Gerroff me!" squealed the gnome.**

**It was certainly nothing like Santa Claus. It was small and leathery looking, with a large, knobby, bald head exactly like a potato. Ron held it at arm's length as it kicked out at him with its horny little feet; he grasped it around the ankles and turned it upside down.**

Fleur made a face of disgust, "We do not 'ave zous dizguzting zings at 'ome."

Mrs. Weasley and Ginny rolled their eyes.

"**This is what you have to do," he said. He raised the gnome above his head ("Gerroff me!") and started to swing it in great circles like a lasso. Seeing the shocked look on Harry's face, Ron added, "It doesn't hurt them —you've just got to make them really dizzy so they can't find their way back to the gnome holes."**

"That sounds horrible," said Hermione.

"Like I said it doesn't hurt them," Ron said, "Besides they're horrible creatures anyway."

"Still…" Hermione insisted.

**He let go of the gnome's ankles: It flew twenty feet into the air and landed with a thud in the field over the hedge.**

"**Pitiful," said Fred. "I bet I can get mine beyond that stump."**

**Harry learned quickly not to feel too sorry for the gnomes. He decided just to drop the first one he caught over the hedge, but the gnome, sensing weakness, sank its razor-sharp teeth into Harry's finger and he had a hard job shaking it off — until**

"See," Ron said to Hermione.

"**Wow, Harry — that must've been fifty feet…"**

**The air was soon thick with flying gnomes.**

"**See, they're not too bright," said George, seizing five or six gnomes at once. "The moment they know the de-gnoming's going on they storm up to have a look. You'd think they'd have learned by now just to stay put."**

**Soon, the crowd of gnomes in the field started walking away in a straggling line, their little shoulders hunched.**

"**They'll be back," said Ron as they watched the gnomes disappear into the hedge on the other side of the field. "They love it here… Dad's too soft with them; he thinks they're funny…"**

Mr. Weasley smiled sheepishly at his wife's glare.

**Just then, the front door slammed.**

"**He's back!" said George. "Dad's home!"**

**They hurried through the garden and back into the house.**

**Mr. Weasley was slumped in a kitchen chair with his glasses off and his eyes closed. He was a thin man, going bald, but the little hair he had was as red as any of his children's. He was wearing long green robes, which were dusty and travel-worn.**

"**What a night," he mumbled, groping for the teapot as they all sat down around him. "Nine raids. Nine! And old Mundungus Fletcher tried to put a hex on me when I had my back turned…"**

"Rotten man," Mrs. Weasley said.

**Mr. Weasley took a long gulp of tea and sighed.**

"**Find anything, Dad?" said Fred eagerly.**

"**All I got were a few shrinking door keys and a biting kettle," yawned Mr. Weasley. "There was some pretty nasty stuff that wasn't my department, though. Mortlake was taken away for questioning about some extremely odd ferrets, but that's the Committee on Experimental Charms, thank goodness…"**

"**Why would anyone bother making door keys shrink?" said George.**

"**Just Muggle-baiting," sighed Mr. Weasley. "Sell them a key that keeps shrinking to nothing so they can never find it when they need it… Of course, it's very hard to convict anyone because no Muggle would admit their key keeps shrinking — they'll insist they just keep losing it. Bless them, they'll go to any lengths to ignore magic, even if it's staring them in the face… But the things our lot have taken to enchanting, you wouldn't believe —"**

"**LIKE CARS, FOR INSTANCE?"**

"You're going to get it," Fred said.

**Mrs. Weasley had appeared, holding a long poker like a sword. Mr. Weasley's eyes jerked open. He stared guiltily at his wife.**

"**C-cars, Molly, dear?"**

"**Yes, Arthur, cars," said Mrs. Weasley, her eyes flashing. "Imagine a wizard buying a rusty old car and telling his wife all he wanted to do with it was take it apart to see how it worked, while really he was enchanting it to make it fly."**

Everyone laughed, while Mrs. Weasley continued to glare at her husband who avoided her eyes.

**Mr. Weasley blinked.**

"**Well, dear, I think you'll find that he would be quite within the law to do that, even if — er — he maybe would have done better to, um, tell his wife the truth… There's a loophole in the law, you'll find… As long as he wasn't intending to fly the car, the fact that the car could fly wouldn't —"**

"Suppose you wrote that law," Tonks said laughing.

"**Arthur Weasley, you made sure there was a loophole when you wrote that law!" shouted Mrs. Weasley. "Just so you could carry on tinkering with all that Muggle rubbish in your shed! And for your information, Harry arrived this morning in the car you weren't intending to fly!"**

"**Harry?" said Mr. Weasley blankly. "Harry who?"**

"How many other Harrys do you know?" asked Bill.

**He looked around, saw Harry, and jumped.**

"**Good lord, is it Harry Potter? Very pleased to meet you, Ron's told us so much about —"**

"**Your sons flew that car to Harry's house and back last night!" shouted Mrs. Weasley. "What have you got to say about that, eh?"**

"**Did you really?" said Mr. Weasley eagerly. "Did it go all right? I — I mean," he faltered as sparks flew from Mrs. Weasley's eyes, "that — that was very wrong, boys — very wrong indeed…"**

Everyone burst out laughing and even Mrs. Weasley hid a little smirk while she rolled her eyes at her husband.

"**Let's leave them to it," Ron muttered to Harry as Mrs. Weasley swelled like a bullfrog. "Come on, I'll show you my bedroom."**

**They slipped out of the kitchen and down a narrow passageway to an uneven staircase, which wound its way, zigzagging up through the house. On the third landing, a door stood ajar. Harry just caught sight of a pair of bright brown eyes staring at him before it closed with a snap.**

Ginny turned red at the mention of her.

"**Ginny," said Ron. "You don't know how weird it is for her to be this shy. She never shuts up normally —"**

"Prat!" Ginny said punching Ron.

**They climbed two more flights until they reached a door with peeling paint and a small plaque on it, saying RONALD'S ROOM.**

**Harry stepped in, his head almost touching the sloping ceiling, and blinked. It was like walking into a furnace: Nearly everything in Ron's room seemed to be a violent shade of orange:****the bedspread, the walls, even the ceiling. Then Harry realized that Ron had covered nearly every inch of the shabby wallpaper with posters of the same seven witches and wizards, all wearing bright orange robes, carrying broomsticks, and waving energetically.**

"Cannons, course he picks the worst team," Ginny said rolling her eyes.

"Like the Harpies are any better," Ron argued.

"Enough out of you too," Mrs. Weasley interrupted, "I'd like to finish this chapter without you two starting a fight,"****

"Your Quidditch team?" said Harry.

"The Chudley Cannons," said Ron, pointing at the orange bedspread, which was emblazoned with two giant black C's and a speeding cannonball. "Ninth in the league."

Ron's school spellbooks were stacked untidily in a corner, next to a pile of comics that all seemed to feature The Adventures of Martin Miggs, the Mad Muggle. Ron's magic wand was lying on top of a fish tank full of frog spawn on the windowsill, next to his fat grey rat, Scabbers, who was snoozing in a patch of sun.

Remus and Harry's eyes darkened at the mention of Peter Pettigrew.****

Harry stepped over a pack of Self-Shuffling playing cards on the floor and looked out of the tiny window. In the field far below he could see a gang of gnomes sneaking one by one back through the Weasleys' hedge. Then he turned to look at Ron, who was watching him almost nervously, as though waiting for his opinion.

"It's a bit small," said Ron quickly. "Not like that room you had with the Muggles. And I'm right underneath the ghoul in the attic; he's always banging on the pipes and groaning…"

But Harry, grinning widely, said, "This is the best house I've ever been in."

The Weasleys blushed at this.

"It really is wonderful here," Harry said.****

Ron's ears went pink.

Ginny passed the book to Remus.


End file.
